Like someone caught doing something guilty,

Secre didn't dare linger for even a second.

She hurriedly exited the Sealing World.

But even as she returned, the image of that man turning to face her lingered in her mind.

Her heart was still pounding uncontrollably.

She was certain of one thing:

"He wasn't just turning around in the image…

He was turning to look at me."

It sounded insane.

That mysterious man in the vision—if he even existed—

was separated by who knows how many centuries and worlds.

Even if fate could somehow bridge them, it should've been impossible.

But her gut told her otherwise.

"That man… Who is he?"

Not just him.

Why had Ethan's body held such a terrifying sealed power?

What did that man represent?

And yet—

"I… I can't remember his face…"

Secre frowned.

Her memory was fine—sharp as ever.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall the man's features.

Even worse, she couldn't speak about him.

It was as if her thoughts were being suppressed.

"Unseeable. Unspeakable. A forbidden existence…"

She exhaled softly.

"No point dwelling on it…"

Shaking her head, she pushed aside the unease and returned to the real world.

The moment her consciousness resurfaced, the battlefield looked just as desperate as before.

Everyone was still huddled inside Ethan's time barrier, their lives hanging by a thread.

"Ethan! It's done! I've broken the seal inside you!"

Broken?

Ethan blinked.

She said the seal was undone, but…

He didn't feel any different.

His mana was still nearly drained.

The time stored in his grimoire was still critically low.

No new power had surged up inside him.

"Did she just bluff me?"

But then—

"Wait… what is this…?"

His expression sharpened.

Suddenly, his body began to heat up—intensely.

Even his normally fair skin was now glowing red, like heated iron.

His blood surged like molten lava, his body trembling.

"Crap… am I going to burn alive from the inside?!"

Everyone noticed Ethan's change, but they were helpless—

No one knew what was happening, let alone how to help.

"So hot… so scorching…!"

Steam was rising from his skin as though he'd stepped into a volcano.

His entire body glowed red.

Only his unbreakable will kept him from blacking out.

"Am I… unable to withstand this new power?"

He didn't know much about the divine bloodline flowing within him,

but he was sure of one thing—it contained an immense power.

It had always been dormant—hidden away.

Maybe that was a form of protection.

A dam could only hold so much water—

add more without strengthening it, and it bursts.

He'd never imagined the backlash would be this violent.

"Nope! Can't take it anymore!"

Driven by desperation, Ethan slashed open his palm with a blade-hand strike.

"If my blood's boiling like magma…

then I'll just let it out!"

SHING!

A golden arc split across his palm.

From the wound flowed glowing, golden blood.

"Golden… blood?!"

"What the hell is he doing?!"

"Is this… suicide?"

Everyone stared, stunned, as the radiant blood began to drift upward, suspended in air.

Even more bizarre—

as it floated, Ethan's body slowly returned to normal.

The boiling sensation faded. His skin cooled.

It worked?

But before anyone could celebrate—

CRACK!

The time barrier shattered.

Without Ethan's protection, the shadowy black creatures flooded in like a tidal wave.

The group's expressions shifted to horror.

"This is it… We're going to die...!"

Then—

"AAAAAHHHH!!"

A roar thundered through the void.

But it didn't come from Asta—

It came from Ethan.

His golden blood now floated midair—weightless and radiant.

When the black entities got close, they veered away like frightened mice before a lion.

They didn't dare touch it.

Instead, they avoided it completely.

"NANI?!"

The Word Devil's eyes widened in disbelief.

He was from the Beyond World—

and so were these dark creatures.

That world, a higher dimension, imposed natural suppression on lower worlds.

That was why magic from this realm had such little effect on him.

But now—

His own summoned darkness was afraid of this golden blood?

"What… are you?!"

The demon demanded, but Ethan didn't reply.

He was just as shocked.

"My blood… scares them?"

Then something even stranger happened.

The floating drops of golden blood began to gather and condense,

forming a perfect sphere.

It spun rapidly in midair, faster with each passing second.

As the others watched, the blood orb shrank with every rotation…

Until, finally—

The sphere vanished.

And in its place—

"No way… is that…"

Everyone stared, stunned.

Most were confused.

But Secre's eyes flew wide open, her lips parted in silent awe.

There was no doubt in her heart.

This wasn't her first time seeing it.

She'd seen it in the Sealing World,

engraved in the diagram atop the first bronze gate.

It had appeared in the vision—

The moment a single blade had destroyed thousands upon thousands of demons.

A sword of crimson fire, a weapon of divine obliteration—

Held by the nameless, forbidden man who could not be remembered or spoken of.

The Crimson Sovereign Sword had returned.

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